Breast cancer (malignant breast neoplasm) is cancer which develops in the human breast. Aside from non-melanoma skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women. The risk of getting breast cancer increases with age. Early diagnosis of breast cancer usually results a good prognosis after treatment as compared with late diagnosis.
Breast self-examination (BSE) is a method used to detect early breast cancer. In this method the woman periodically feels each of her breasts in an attempt to find the lumps, swelling, or distortions associated with breast cancer. However, oftentimes self-examination is ineffective. In reference to the “Randomized trial of breast self-examination in Shanghai” study(1), the study's conclusion was as follows—{Intensive instruction in breast self examination (BSE) did not reduce mortality from breast cancer. Programs to encourage BSE in the absence of mammography would be unlikely to reduce mortality from breast cancer. Women who choose to practice BSE should be informed that its efficacy is unproven and that it may increase their chances of having a benign breast biopsy}.
The low effectiveness and accuracy of BSE is caused by many factors:                The woman is looking for something (the tumor) which she has never touched in her life.        Layers of adipose tissue separate the lump from the tips of the palpating fingers.        Even with breast simulation model* training, the tactile memory will fade with time. Unfortunately, the level of skill and motivation required for effective BSE decline with time. *A breast simulation model is a life size reproduction of a human breast which simulates the feel of a real human breast having a cancer tumor, and upon which a woman may practice tactile cancer detection skills.        A breast simulation model cannot simulate a real human breast with 100% accuracy.        Unfortunately mammography is only 85% accuracy in diagnosis. Clinical breast examination (CBE) rather than BSE identifies some cancers missed by mammography and provides an important screening tool among women for whom mammography is not recommended or women who do not receive high-quality screening mammography according to recommended guidelines.(2)         